Drug Information - Marijuana Addiction
How does marijuana affect the body?
Some immediate physical effects of marijuana include: a faster heartbeat and
pulse rate
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bloodshot eyes
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dry mouth and throat
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No scientific evidence indicates that marijuana improves hearing, eyesight, and
skin sensitivity
Marijuana use increases the heart rate as much as 50 percent, depending on the
amount of THC.
It can cause chest pain in people who have a poor blood supply to the heart -
and it produces these effects more rapidly than tobacco smoke does.
Scientists believe that marijuana can be especially harmful to the lungs
because users often inhale the unfiltered smoke deeply and hold it in their
lungs as long as possible. Therefore, the smoke is in contact with lung tissues
for long periods of time, which irritates the lungs and damages the way they
work.
Marijuana smoke contains some of the same ingredients in tobacco smoke that can
cause emphysema and cancer. In addition, many marijuana users also smoke
cigarettes; the combined effects of smoking these two substances creates an
increased health risk. "Burnout" is a term first used by marijuana smokers
themselves to describe the effect of prolonged use. Young people who smoke
marijuana heavily over long periods of time can become dull, slow moving, and
inattentive. These "burned-out" users are sometimes so unaware of their
surroundings that they do not respond when friends speak to them, and they do
not realize they have a problem.
How does marijuana affect your mind?
Laboratory studies have shown that animals exhibit symptoms of drug withdrawal
after cessation of prolonged marijuana administration. Some human studies have
also demonstrated withdrawal symptoms such as irritability, stomach pain,
aggression, and anxiety after cessation of oral administration of
tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), marijuana's principal psychoactive component. Now,
NIDA-supported researchers at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts, and
Columbia University in New York City have shown that individuals who regularly
smoke marijuana experience withdrawal symptoms after they stop smoking the
drug.
Studies at Columbia University in New York City have demonstrated that, in
addition to aggression, marijuana smokers experience other withdrawal symptoms
such as anxiety, stomach pain, and increased irritability during abstinence
from the drug. "These results suggest that dependence may be an important
consequence of repeated daily exposure to marijuana," says NIDA.
Brief Description:
The most commonly used illegal drug in the U.S. The main active chemical is
THC.
Street Names:
Pot, ganga, weed, grass, and many others.
Effects:
Short-term effects include memory and learning problems, distorted perception,
and difficulty thinking and solving problems.
Statistics and Trends:
About half of U.S. teenagers try marijuana before finishing high school.
History of marijuana
Early marijuana
Marijuana has been used as an agent for achieving euphoria since ancient times;
it was described in a Chinese medical compendium traditionally considered to
date from 2737 B.C. Its use spread from China to India and then to N Africa and
reached Europe at least as early as A.D. 500.
The first direct reference to a cannabis product as a psychoactive agent dates
from 2737 BC, in the writings of the Chinese emperor Shen Nung. The focus was
on its powers as a medication for rheumatism, gout, malaria, and oddly enough,
absent-mindedness. Mention was made of the intoxicating properties, but the
medicinal value was considered more important. In India though it was clearly
used recreationally. The Muslims too used it recreationally for alcohol
consumption was banned by the Koran. It was the Muslims who introduced hashish,
whose popularity spread quickly throughout 12th century Persia (Iran) and North
Africa.
Marijuana in America
In 1545 the Spanish brought marijunana to the New World. The English introduced
it in Jamestown in 1611 where it became a major commercial crop alongside
tobacco and was grown as a source of fiber.
By 1890, hemp had been replaced by cotton as a major cash crop in southern
states. Some patent medicines during this era contained marijuana, but it was a
small percentage compared to the number containing opium or cocaine. It was in
the 1920's that marijuana began to catch on. Some historians say its emergence
was brought about by Prohibition. Its recreational use was restricted to jazz
musicians and people in show business. "Reefer songs" became the rage of the
jazz world. Marijuana clubs, called tea pads, sprang up in every major city.
These marijuana establishments were tolerated by the authorities because
marijuana was not illegal and patrons showed no evidence of making a nuisance
of themselves or disturbing the community. Marijuana was not considered a
social threat.
Marijuana was listed in the United States Pharmacopeia from 1850 until 1942 and
was prescribed for various conditions including labor pains, nausea, and
rheumatism. Its use as an intoxicant was also commonplace from the 1850s to the
1930s. A campaign conducted in the 1930s by the U.S. Federal Bureau of
Narcotics (now the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs) sought to portray
marijuana as a powerful, addicting substance that would lead users into
narcotics addiction. It is still considered a "gateway" drug by some
authorities. In the 1950s it was an accessory of the beat generation; in the
1960s it was used by college students and "hippies" and became a symbol of
rebellion against authority.
The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 classified marijuana along with heroin
and LSD as a Schedule I drug, i.e., having the relatively highest abuse
potential and no accepted medical use. Most marijuana at that time came from
Mexico, but in 1975 the Mexican government agreed to eradicate the crop by
spraying it with the herbicide paraquat, raising fears of toxic side effects.
Colombia then became the main supplier. The "zero tolerance" climate of the
Reagan and Bush administrations resulted in passage of strict laws and
mandatory sentences for possession of marijuana and in heightened vigilance
against smuggling at the southern borders. The "war on drugs" thus brought with
it a shift from reliance on imported supplies to domestic cultivation
(particularly in Hawaii and California). Beginning in 1982 the Drug Enforcement
Administration turned increased attention to marijuana farms in the United
States, and there was a shift to the indoor growing of plants specially
developed for small size and high yield. After over a decade of decreasing use,
marijuana smoking began an upward trend once more in the early 1990s,
especially among teenagers.
Signs of marijuana abuse:
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Rapid, loud talking and bursts of laughter in early stages of intoxication.
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Sleepy or stuporous in the later stages.
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Lack of concentration and coordination.
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Forgetfulness in conversation.
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Inflammation in whites of eyes.
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Odor similar to burnt rope on clothing or breath.
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Distorted sense of time passage - tendency to overestimate time intervals.
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Craving for sweets.
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Increased appetite.
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Use or possession of paraphernalia including roach clip, packs of rolling
papers, pipes or bongs.
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